1.
Russian Empire
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The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring powers, the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia. It played a role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleons ambitions to control Europe. The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, with 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, there were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts, they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia. Economically, the empire had an agricultural base, with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs. The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways, the land was ruled by a nobility from the 10th through the 17th centuries, and subsequently by an emperor. Tsar Ivan III laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged and he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. Tsar Peter the Great fought numerous wars and expanded an already huge empire into a major European power, Catherine the Great presided over a golden age. She expanded the state by conquest, colonization and diplomacy, continuing Peter the Greats policy of modernisation along West European lines, Tsar Alexander II promoted numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe involved protecting the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and that connection by 1914 led to Russias entry into the First World War on the side of France, Britain, and Serbia, against the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Russian Empire functioned as a monarchy until the Revolution of 1905. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917, largely as a result of failures in its participation in the First World War. Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country, Poland was divided in the 1790-1815 era, with much of the land and population going to Russia. Most of the 19th century growth came from adding territory in Asia, Peter I the Great introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his country to the European state system. However, this vast land had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those of agriculture in the West, compelling nearly the entire population to farm. Only a small percentage lived in towns, the class of kholops, close to the one of slavery, remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter I converted household kholops into house serfs, thus including them in poll taxation

2.
Imperial Russian Army
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The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of more than 900,000 regular soldiers, the last living veteran of the Russian Imperial Army was the Ukrainian supercentenarian Mikhail Krichevsky, who died in 2008. Russian tsars before Peter maintained professional hereditary musketeer corps, known as streltsy and these were originally raised by Tsar Ivan IV, originally an effective force, they had become highly unreliable and undisciplined. In times of war the forces were augmented by peasants. There were different kinds of regiments, such as regulars, dragoons, in 1631, the Russians created two regular regiments in Moscow. During the Russo-Polish War of 1632–1634, six regular regiments, one reiter regiment. Initially, they recruited children of the boyars and streltsy, volunteers, Cossacks. After the war with Poland, all of the regiments were disbanded, during another Russo-Polish War, they were created again and became a principal force of the Russian army. Often, regular and dragoon regiments were manned with datochniye lyudi for lifelong military service, reiters were manned with small or landless gentry and boyars children and were paid with money for their service. More than a half of the officers were representatives from the gentry. In times of peace, some of the regiments were usually disbanded, in 1681, there were 33 regular regiments and 25 dragoon and reiter regiments. In the late 17th century, regiments of the new type represented more than a half of the Russian Army, Conscription in Russia was introduced by Peter I of Russia in December 1699, though reports say Peters father also used it. Conscription of peasants and townspeople was based on system, per settlement. Initially it was based on the number of households, later it was based on the population numbers, the term of service in the 18th century was for life. In 1793 it was reduced to 25 years, in 1834, it was reduced to 20 years plus five years in the reserve, and in 1855 to 12 years plus three years in the reserve. The history of the Russian army in this era was linked to the name of Russian General Alexander Suvorov, considered one of a few great generals in history who never lost a battle. From 1777 to 1783 Suvorov served in the Crimea and in the Caucasus, becoming a lieutenant-general in 1780, from 1787 to 1791 he again fought the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 and won many victories. Suvorovs leadership also played a key role in a Russian victory over the Poles during the Kościuszko Uprising, furthermore, many lower-level officers were poorly trained and had difficulty getting their men to perform the sometimes complex manoeuvres required in a battle

3.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany

4.
Russian Expeditionary Force in France
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The Russian Expeditionary Force was a World War I military force sent to France by the Russian Empire. In 1915 the French requested that Russian troops be sent to fight alongside their own army on the Western Front, initially they asked for 300,000 men, an unrealistically high figure, probably based on assumptions about Russias unlimited reserves. General Mikhail Alekseev, the Imperial Chief of Staff, was opposed to sending any Russian troops, the First Russian Special Brigade finally landed at Marseille in April 1916. A Second Special Brigade was also sent to serve alongside other Allied formations on the Salonika Front in northern Greece, the First Brigade was finally disbanded before the end of the year. However, some formed the Légion Russe, and continued to maintain a Russian presence in the west and, indeed in the First World War itself. In December 1915 the French politician, Paul Doumer while on a visit to Russia, while the Russian High Command showed little enthusiasm for this proposal, Tsar Nicholas II supported it. General Alexeyev, the Russian chief of staff from August 1915, made an offer to send Russian troops to France, another requirement was that the French Navy transport them. The 1st Russian Special Brigade formed in January,1916 under the command of General Nikolai Aleksandrovich Lokhvitsky, the 1st Regiments troops were mainly conscripted factory workers while the 2nds were generally drawn from rural areas. The 1st Special Brigade totaled 8,942 men and it left Moscow on February 3,1916 and arrived in Marseille on April 16 of the same year. The regiments were divided into three battalions of four companies each, each regiment also had a liaison and a service section. The reserve battalion had six companies, the First Brigade was commanded by General Lokhvitsky, and was composed of 180 officers and 8762 enlisted men. Each brigade had a supply of clothing and a kitchen on wheels. The French Navy and Army undertook to provide shipping, supplies, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Brigades soon followed. The 2nd and 4th Brigades arrived on the Salonika front in August, the 3rd Brigade comprised serving soldiers plus reserve units formed in Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk under the command of Fyodor Fyodorovich Palitzin, it left for France in August 1916. The 6th, 7th and 8th Brigades were never formed due to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, approximately 450 Estonian troops also served with the REF, mostly in the 1st and 3rd Brigades. After February 1917 these troops wore small Estonian flags to distinguish themselves from their Russian allies, in January 1916, the 1st Special Infantry Brigade was formed and included two regiments, under the command of Major-General Nikolaï Alexandrovitch Lokhvitski. Transported by rail 8,942 men reached Dalian, on the Korea Bay of the Peninsula, the Ist Brigade reached Marseille on April 16,1916. On July 1916, the 2nd Special Infantry Brigade, commanded by général Mikhail Dieterichs, was sent via France to the front de Thessalonique, the 3rd Special Infantry Brigade was formed on June 1916, and was sent to France in August via Arkhangelsk

5.
Andrei Zayonchkovski
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Andrei Medardovich Zayonchkovski or Zaionchkovski commanded the defence of the Romanian-Bulgarian border in Dobruja upon Romanias entry into World War I in August 1916. After graduation from the Nicholas School of Military Engineering in 1882, in 1888 he graduated from the General Staff Academy and served in various staff positions. During the Russo-Japanese War he commanded the 85th Vyborg Infantry Regiment, during World War I Zayonchkovski commanded first the 30th Army Corps. Following Romanias entry into the war on 27 August 1916, he commanded the Russian-Romanian Dobruja Army in charge of defending Dobruja against the Central Powers and he was relieved by general Dmitry Shcherbachev in April 1917 and was in retirement by the time of the October Revolution. In 1918 he joined the Red Army, serving in staff positions. After the end of the Russian Civil War he switched to teaching in the Red Army Military Academy and he wrote a two-volume overview of World War I military operations. While a professor, Zaionchkovski worked as an agent for the Soviet secret police at the time he was head of the conspiratorial anti-Bolshevik Monarchist Union

6.
Special Corps of Gendarmes
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The Special Corps of Gendarmes was the uniformed security police of the Russian Empire in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its main responsibilities were law enforcement and state security, the responsibilities of the Gendarmes also included the execution of court orders, pursuit of fugitives, riot control, and detainment of unusual criminals. Gendarmes could also be assigned to assist local police and officials, the precursors of the Corps were the Army Gendarmerie regiment, created in 1815 and based on the Borisoglebsk Dragoon Regiment, and Gendarmerie units of the Special Corps of the Internal Guards. In 1836, the Gendarmerie of the Internal Guards was transformed into the Special Corps of Gendarmes, the Commander of the Corps and Chief of Staff of the Corps were also Directors of the Third Section under the Executive Director. The Corps was divided into seven territorial Districts, six of them located in Russia and one in the Kingdom of Poland, the Main Directorate, along with additional Gubernial Directorates, was also created. The Armys Gendarmerie regiment joined the Corps in 1842, the Gendarmes used Cavalry ranks of the Russian military ranks system introduced in 1826. Most branches of the Special Corps wore light blue uniforms in contrast to the green of the regular army. Gendarmes of the Railroad Directorates were however distinguished by dark blue tunics, only the most competent of the Armys officers in noble ranks could join the Corps of Gendarmes. In August 1880, both the Third Section and the Special Corps of Gendarmes were transferred to the authority of the Minister of Internal Affairs by proposal of Count Loris-Melikov, the office Chief of Gendarmes was inherited by the Minister, and the Commander of the Corps became his Deputy. Many Gendarme officers were transferred to then-created Department of Police, during the Russian Revolution of February 1917, gendarmes stationed at Kronstadt remained loyal to the Tsarist regime, firing on demonstrators and subsequently being imprisoned for trial. Official history of the MVD of Russia, 1825-1856 1857-1879 1880-1904 1905-1916 Ministry of Police of Imperial Russia

7.
2nd Army (Russian Empire)
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The Russian 2nd Army was an army-level command of the Imperial Russian Army in World War I. It was formed just prior to the outbreak of hostilities from the units of Warsaw Military District and was mobilized in August 1914, the army was effectively destroyed at Battle of Tannenberg in August 1914. However, it was soon thereafter and fought until almost the end of the war. Towards the end of 1917, the staff was based in Slutsk and it was dissolved in early 1918. In the beginning of World War I, the army included the 1st, VI, XIII, XV, following the outbreak of war it was mobilised in early August and placed under the command of General Alexander Samsonov. The combination of the 1st and 2nd Armies had a flaw, Samsonov. Between 7–9 August 1914 first the 1st and then the 2nd Army crossed the border into East Prussia, the 1st Army would engage the Germans at the battles of Stallupönen and Gumbinnen while the 2nd Army had remained unengaged, advancing to the south of the 1st Army. The result was that the Russians were now broadcasting their orders on unsecure lines, a number of successful thrusts were conducted, pushing the Germans back. On 23 August they succeeded in driving the German XX Corps back to a defensive line, a second push against the XX Corps on the 24th failed but the Germans withdrew to avoid being cut off. On 26 August the 1st Army approached Königsberg unopposed as the German forces had identified the 2nd Army as an immediate threat and had withdrawn to the south in order to engage it. Unaware that his right flank was now exposed, Samsonov pressed the 2nd Army on, on the 27th the German I Corps engaged the Russian I Corps on the 2nd Armys left flank and threw it back. Late on the 28th Samsonov finally realised the situation the 2nd Army was in with both flanks exposed. With the centre also facing critical supply shortages the assault was halted before an order to retreat to the southeast was given, Samsonov then requested that the 1st Army break-off its assault on Königsberg and assist the 2nd Army by covering its retreat. The order to retreat and the request for assistance came too late to rescue the 2nd Army, throughout the 29th German artillery pounded the Tannenberg pocket and at some point on the 29th Samsonov shot himself. The shattered remnants of the 2nd Army surrendered on 30 August with some 90,000 Russian POWs being captured and with them the Russian 2nd Army ceased to exist as an effective unit. However, not all of its units were destroyed, and the army remained in the line and it continued to participate in the fighting on the Eastern Front until the dissolution of the Imperial Russian Army in early 1918. In March 1916 the 2nd Army was responsible for conducting the Lake Naroch Offensive, which was unsuccessful and in which the army suffered heavy losses

8.
Corps
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A corps is a military unit usually consisting of several divisions. Some military service branches are also called corps, such as the Military Police Corps, Royal Logistic Corps, Quartermaster Corps, a few civilian organizations use the name corps to imply a similar service level, such as the Peace Corps. In many armies, a corps is a formation composed of two or more divisions, and typically commanded by a lieutenant general. During World War I and World War II, due to the scale of combat. In Western armies with numbered corps, the number is indicated in Roman numerals. II Corps was also formed, with Militia units, to defend south-eastern Australia, sub-corps formations controlled Allied land forces in the remainder of Australia. I Corps headquarters was assigned control of the New Guinea campaign. In early 1945, when I Corps was assigned the task of re-taking Borneo, the Canadian Corps consisted of four Canadian divisions. After the Armistice, the peacetime Canadian militia was organized into corps and divisions. Early in the Second World War, Canadas contribution to the British-French forces fighting the Germans was limited to a single division, after the fall of France in June 1940, a second division moved to England, coming under command of a Canadian corps headquarters. This corps was renamed I Canadian Corps as a corps headquarters was established in the UK. I Canadian Corps eventually fought in Italy, II Canadian Corps in NW Europe, after the formations were disbanded after VE Day, Canada has never subsequently organized a Corps headquarters. The Chinese Republic had 133 Corps during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Corps became the basic tactical unit of the NRA having strength nearly equivalent to an allied Division. The French Army under Napoleon used corps-sized formations as the first formal combined-arms groupings of divisions with reasonably stable manning, Napoleon first used the Corps dArmée in 1805. The use of the Corps dArmée was an innovation that provided Napoleon with a significant battlefield advantage in the early phases of the Napoleonic Wars. The Corps was designed to be an independent military group containing cavalry, artillery and infantry and this allowed Napoleon to mass the bulk of his forces to effect a penetration into a weak section of enemy lines without risking his own communications or flank. This innovation stimulated other European powers to adopt similar military structures, the Corps has remained an echelon of French Army organization to the modern day. As fixed military formation already in peace-time it was used almost in all European armies after Battle of Ulm in 1805, in Prussia it was introduced by Order of His Majesty from November 5,1816, in order to strengthen the readiness to war

9.
Ministry of War of the Russian Empire
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Ministry of War of the Russian Empire, was an administrative body in the Russian Empire from 1802 to 1917. It was established in 1802 as the Ministry of ground armed forces taking over responsibilities from the College of War during the Government reform of Alexander I and it was renamed to the Ministry of War in 1815. At the end of 19th century Ministry of war had following structure, in 1824, the mezzanine and the first floor of the Lobanov-Rostovsky Residence were rented for the Ministry of War for 63,000 roubles a year. On 23 June 1828, the building was bought by the State Treasury for one million roubles. It housed the principal establishments of the Ministry until its dissolution in 1918, the main entrance is guarded by white marble Medici lions

10.
20th Army Corps (Russian Empire)
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Before World War I, the 20th Corps was stationed in the Vilno Military District, with corps headquarters in Riga. At the outbreak of the war, the corps consisted of two divisions and a number of independent battalions and brigades. It was demobilized in April 1917, the corps was formed in 1899, and was placed under the command of Lieutenant General Richard Troyanovich Meves, originally made up of the 29th and 45th infantry divisions. This unit later fought in World War I, in the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes, on the February 7, in the middle of a snowstorm, Fritz von Belows German Eighth Army had launched a surprise attack, advancing 70 miles within one week. Severe casualties were inflicted on the Russians, resulting in a withdrawal with many Russians taken prisoner. A large number of Latvian soldiers were killed, wounded or captured during this battle and this influenced the decision of the Imperial Russian Army to establish the Latvian Rifles. The 20th corps was led by the following commanders throughout its existence, List of Imperial Russian Army formations and units Leonard, from War through Revolution, The Story of the Latvian Rifles. Nebraska, CO, 32nd Annual European Studies Conference

The Russian Empire (Russian: Россійская Имперія) was an empire that existed from 1721, following the end of the Great …

Peter the Great officially renamed the Tsardom of Russia as the Russian Empire in 1721 and became its first emperor. He instituted sweeping reforms and oversaw the transformation of Russia into a major European power.

A field army (or numbered army or simply army) is a military formation in many armed forces, composed of two or more …

The standard map symbol for a field army. The four exes are the generic symbol of a field army (i.e. they do not represent Roman numerals); the army's specific number or name, if included, would be written numerically to the left of the symbol.